LG Defense prides itself on highly lethal systems that enable small armies to kill large numbers of enemy troops with efficiency and utmost prejudice. One key component of our systems has always been their smart nature. The ability to independently determine the best target and through networking to maximize their impact on the degradation of enemy forces.
SWARM Munitions take that intelligence to new heights as they are designed to be delivered deep behind enemy lines by a variety of aircraft dispensers, artillery dispensers and missile dispensers where they loiter then autonomously track and kill the enemy. The SWARM munition is designed to provide capability to attack deep, high-payoff and time critical targets such as armored units, self propelled artillery, supply convoys and other high value targets.
Warhead:
The primary warhead is the SWARM’s 8.4 kg (18.5lbs) Hellraiser. This warhead combines the ability to take out tanks, Soft stationary and soft mobile targets. Hellraiser utilizes a reactive jet-shaped charge. The result is a high velocity jet that can penetrate and utterly destroy armor while providing a cluster bomb effect on surrounding equipment and personnel.
In a conventional shaped charge explosive surround a hollow cone made of copper. When the explosive detonates, the cone is converted into a high-speed jet that does the damage. In the SWARM we have replaced the copper with a reactive material, which releases energy as it is driven forward. This jet has a much greater destructive power. Although penetration is not increased damage to the penetrated material and lethality are greatly enhanced.
The SWARM counters the advent of explosive reactive armor (ERA). ERA panels lie over a vehicle’s main armor and explode when struck by a warhead. This explosion does not harm the vehicle’s main armor, but causes steel panels to fly into the path of the antitank round’s jet, so that the jet expends its most potent energy cutting through the panels, rather than through the main armor. The SWARM uses two shaped-charge warheads in tandem. The conventional precursor charge sets off the ERA and clears it from the path of the main Hellraiser charge, which then penetrates the target’s primary armor. A two-layered molybdenum liner is used for the precursor and a reactive nanoparticle composition of aluminum in a polytetrafluroethylene matrix for the main charge.
To protect the main charge from the explosive blast, shock, and debris caused by the impact of the missile's nose and the detonation of the precursor charge, a blast shield of composite material is used between the main and precursor charge. The second charge causes the SWARM casing and its reactive material liner to detonate in a cloud of fragmentation. The fragments ignite on impact, releasing their energy inside the target. This gives a corresponding increase in the chance of causing catastrophic damage.
The destructive power of reactive fragments are similar to a cluster bomb attack with the exception that there is no danger afterward. This makes the warhead exceptionally lethal when used on structures or personnel in the area of effect. The SWARM can kill heavily armored vehicles and tanks and is effective on softer targets as well.
Guidance:
The advanced sensors and artificial intelligence package includes a combination of millimeter wave radar (MMW) coupled with an imaging infrared (IIR) seeker using a QWIP (Quantum Well Imaging Photodetector) and an onboard target database, which allows the weapon to image the target and find the most effective location on the target to impact. The bandwidth of the MMW radar gives SWARM an all weather capability. In addition to the capacity for independent detection, recognition, and discrimination of targets, the SWARM has the capacity to determine where on a target to best impact causing the most damage to eliminate the target.
The QWIP (Quantum Well Imaging Photodetector) allow a single chip to concurrently image targets in two infrared color bands, and permit tailored infrared color sensitivity. This allows the SWARM to utilize a focal plane array composed of 5 - 1024 x 1024 corrugated QWIPs (C-QWIPs) using inclined micromirrors on the detector sidewalls to reflect light into parallel propagation, thus creating the vertical field. This FPA has a wide range of wavelength bands and high quantum efficiency.
A digital autopilot provides mid-course guidance using data from the network link. The digital autopilot with a high accuracy digital inertial measurement system provides the high precision navigation to locate targets at long range and in off-boresight operations. This is coupled with the ability of the bomblets to communicate with each other and other weapon packages. The AI can share sensor data with other bomblets and other platforms, determine what weapons hit their targets by having each bomblet emit a high pitched tone at impact and thereby effectively deliver devastating hits on enemy forces. Like all networked systems the SWARM uses unique hardware encoded keyfiles and a launcher generated keyfile coupled with cascaded ciphers using individual randomly generated keys.
Delivery Platform:
The SWARM is delivered by a variety of platforms with its primary delivery system being the Seahag Hypersonic Cruise missile. Each Seahag can carry 16 SWARM munitions to its target. Prior to dispense, the SWARM thermal battery is initiated, the flight software and mission parameters are downloaded, and the IMU is aligned. After dispense the SWARM stabilizes itself, slows to acquisition speeds, and deploys its aerodynamic surfaces. The SWARM acquires the target or target groups, glides to the immediate target area and selects an individual vehicle to be engaged, ensuring that not all SWARMs pick the same target. A top down, hit-to-kill terminal profile is prosecuted toward a selected vulnerable region of the targeted vehicle. On impact, the tandem conventional shaped-charge warhead is detonated, assuring an M, F, or K-kill and collectively securing delay, disruption or destruction of the targeted enemy unit.
The SWARM may be deployed by the following systems:
Seahag Hypersonic Cruise Missile: 16 SWARM munitions
Tigershark Cruise Missile: 6 SWARM munitions
300mm MLRS Rocket: 4 SWARM munitions
160mm Howitzer Round: 2 SWARM munitions
2000 lbs Glide Bomb: 16 SWARM munitions and INS/GPS guidance and electro-optical video feedback with 99mi (160km range)
Bomblet Specifications:
Diameter: 5.5 inches
Wingspan: 36 inches
Lenght: 36 inches
Weight: 35 lbs
Glide Rate: 10:1
Field of Vision: 60 degrees
Warhead: 8.4kg (18.5lbs) tandem shaped charge
Purchase:
The SWARM munition is being offered in the form of domestic production rights license. The license includes infinite production of all warhead variants and SWARM bomblets for each of the above missile systems, infinite production of the 2000lbs Glide bomb, access to technical data, assistance in the set up of production facilities, production of the reactive material and all upgrades and improvements. Warhead modifications for comparable delivery systems is included.
The DPR includes a great deal of technology transfer, chiefly being the reactive material composition but also the advanced networking capability of the weapon systems. As such the cost of the DPR is NSD 200,000,000,000
